Test your knowledge of American history

SEAN SIMMERS, The Patriot-News TThe annual memorial of flags is planted at the Zembo Temple in Harrisburg. Each of the 4,200 flags honors the men and women who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq. Photo taken Nov. 2, 2007.

Happy Independence Day. It's a great day to be an American. This is also a great day to reflect a bit about the nation, its history and its governance - and to refresh our knowledge of these things. In the spirit of that goal, we publish below a selection of sample questions that Citizenship and Immigration Serv­ices provides on its Web site for immigrants about to take a test as part of the process to become U.S. citizens.

The answers for all of these questions appear at the bottom of this entry.­ Good luck, and enjoy the nation's birthday.

1. How many stars are there in our flag?

2. What do the stars on the flag mean?

3. How many stripes are there in the flag?

4. What do the stripes on the flag mean?

5. What is the date of Independence Day?

6. Independence from whom?

7. What country did we fight during the Revolutionary War?

8. Who was the first president of the United States?

9. Who is the president of the United States today?

10. Who is the vice president of the United States today?

11. Who elects the president of the United States?

12. For how long do we elect the president?

13. Who becomes president of the United States if the president should die?

14. Who becomes president of the United States if the president and the vice president should die?

15. What is the Constitution?

16. Can the Constitution be changed?

17. What do we call a change to the Constitution?

18. How many changes or amendments are there to the Constitution?

19. How many branches are there in our government?

20. What are the branches of our government?

21. Who makes the laws in the United States?

22. What are the duties of Congress?

23. How many senators are there in Congress?

24. Can you name the two senators from your state?

25. For how long do we elect each senator?

26. How many representatives are there in Congress?

27. For how long do we elect the representatives?

28. What is the executive branch of our government?

29. What is the judiciary branch of our government?

30. What are the duties of the Supreme Court?

31. What is the Bill of Rights?

32. Who is the chief justice of the United States?

33. Can you name the 13 original states?

34. Who said, "Give me liberty or give me death"?

35. Which countries were our enemies during World War II?

36. What are the 49th and 50th states of the Union?

37. How many terms can the president serve?

38. Who was Martin Luther King Jr.?

39. Who is the head of your local government?

40. According to the Constitution, a person must meet certain requirements in order to be eligible to become president. Name one of these requirements.

41. Why are there 100 senators in the Senate?

42. Who selects the Supreme Court justices?

43. How many Supreme Court justices are there?

44. What is the head executive of a state government called?

45. What is the head executive of a city government called?

46. Why did the Pilgrims come to America?

47. What holiday was celebrated for the first time by the Americans colonists?

48. Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?

49. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

50. What is the basic belief of the Declaration of Independence? 

51. What is the national anthem of the United States?

52. Who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner?

53. Where does freedom of speech come from?

54. What is a minimum voting age in the United States?

55. Who signs bills into law?

56. What is the highest court in the United States?

57. Who was the president during the Civil War?

58. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

59. What special group advises the president?

60. Which president is called the "Father of our Country?"

61. Who helped the pilgrims in America?

62. What is the name of the ship that brought the pilgrims to America?

63. Name three rights of freedom guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

64. Who has the power to declare war?

65. What kind of government does the United States have?

66. In what year was the Constitution written?

67. What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?

68. Whose rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?

69. What is the introduction to the Constitution called?

70. Where does Congress meet?

71. What is the White House?

72. Where is the White House located?

73. Who is the commander in chief of the U.S. military?

74. In what month is the new president inaugurated?

75. How many times may a senator be re-elected?

76. How many times may a congressman be re-elected?

77. Name one benefit of being a citizen of the United States.

78. What is the most important right granted to U.S. citizens? 

Here are the answers to the sample citizenship test questions:

1. 50

2. One for each state in the Union

3. 13

4. They represent the original 13 states.

5 July 4th

6. England

7. England

8. George Washington

9. George W. Bush

10. Richard B. (Dick) Cheney

11. The Electoral College

12. The vice president

13. The speaker of the House of Representatives.

14. Four years

15. The supreme law of the land

16. Yes

17. An amendment

18. 27

19. 3

20. Legislative, Executive and Judicial

21. Congress

22. To make laws

23. 100

24. Arlen Specter and Robert P. Casey Jr.

25. 6 years

26. 435

27. 2 years

28. The president, vice president, Cabinet and departments under the Cabinet members

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